Trump Admin Floats Razing Kennedy Center

The Trump administration is raising the possibility that the Kennedy Center could eventually be demolished and replaced with an outdoor amphitheater if efforts to restore the aging Washington landmark are blocked, NBC News first reported Tuesday.

The administration raised the prospect in a new court filing but stopped short of saying there is an active plan to tear down the performing arts center.

The filing came in a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who serves on the Kennedy Center board because of her position in Congress and sued last year to have President Donald Trump's name removed from the building.

Administration lawyers argued that Trump's restoration and fundraising efforts are necessary to prevent the center from deteriorating further.

"Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down," the filing said.

Officials said the site could then be redeveloped, potentially with a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River, an idea they said has been proposed for years.

The filing acknowledged such a replacement would "fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy" but said it would be simpler and less expensive to build, operate and maintain.